Yay… so things are moving along amongst scholars in furthering the discussion – and more importantly action – on increasing enviromental awareness amongst Muslims world wide.  At a recent Conference on Islam and Climate Change in Bogor, Indonesia, Muslim scholars from about 15 countries worldwide noted the importance of increasing awareness on climate change amongst Muslim communities.

Several things were discussed, primarily climate change prevention via education, as well as learning from best practices of existing environmental NGOs and faith-based groups (eg. ECO-Pesantrens in Indonesia), and taking steps to “green” the annual hajj. There were also suggestions of establishing the cities of Bogor (Indonesia), Madinah (Saudi Arabia), Sale (Morrocco) and Sanaa (Yemen) as Green Cities (Al Khair). While this all sounds pretty fine and dandy, it would be interesting to see how this would actually materialize.

There has been interest from several Singaporeans and myself on the developments of this conference. Unfortunately, we didn’t quite have the chance to participate, but nevertheless we are certain that this is a start of many more activities to come.

Media reports on the event….

Muslim world to promote ‘green haj’ concept, The Jakarta Post, 6 April 2010

Bogor, Madinah, Sale, Sanaa Jadi Green City, KOMPAS, 6 April 2010

Muslim leaders and prevention of environmental disasaters, The Jakarta Post, 9 April 2010

Dunia Islam harus atasi perubahan iklim, BBC Indonesia, 10 April 2010

Muslim leaders told to confront climate crisis, The Jakarta Post, 11 April 2010

Int`l muslim conference on climate change issues Bogor Declaration, Antara News, 11 April 2010